____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 21, 1996 ____________________________________________________ "Comfort Zone Christians" by Jim Lee It is said that ``He who aims at nothing will hit it,'' and ``He who has no goal in mind will get there fast.'' I wonder, in the realm of Christianity, how many of us go through our lives as Christians with no goals, no objectives, and no plans? ``Comfort Zone Christians'' is a term that is growing in popularity which describes this behavior, and I believe that many of us fit into this category. Why do I believe this? For the simple fact that it's easy to just do as you please if you have no objectives, goals, or plans in life. No plans means no failures! What an easy life! Thus with this attitude everything is nice and safe within our ``Comfort Zone.'' But is that where Jesus wants us to be? Oh yes, He did say in Matthew 11:28, ``Come unto me...and I will give you REST.'' But I really don't think He meant for us to just ``kick back and get comfortable'' (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12). Rest assured my brethren, one is not going to suffer any form of persecution while in their ``Comfort Zone.'' I believe that God expects us to reach out beyond our private domain. Let me illustrate with the following example. When a baby eagle is left in its nest, it is in its ``Comfort Zone.'' In order for it to learn to fly, it MUST leave its ``Comfort Zone.'' Often, the mother eagle will begin to pull the feathers from the bottom of the nest, leaving the baby eagle sitting on the hard, sharp sticks that make up the nest. Get the picture? Many of us are like that baby eagle. We snuggle down into our padded pew, we get comfortable and don't want to go out into the real world. What would happen to that eagle if it never left its nest? It would live and die never knowing the thrill of flight, never reaching its potential (cf. Rev. 3:1). It's sad to say, but it's worth repeating, many of us are like that baby eagle. We'll never know the thrill of flight because we never leave the nest. We'll never reach our potential, or even know what it is, because we won't leave our ``Comfort Zone.'' When Peter left the boat and walked to Jesus on the sea (Matt. 14:22-31), he had to leave his ``Comfort Zone.'' How many of us would get out of the boat and go to Jesus if He would bid us to come? Now, before you answer that too quickly, consider the fact that He commanded us to ``Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled'' (Lk. 14:23). Jesus didn't ask us to walk on water, just to go out and invite them to come in. But when going out and ministering to people is suggested, some react with excuses as if you had asked them to walk on water! Brethren, we need to realize that the boat we must come out of is our ``Comfort Zone''; the water we must walk on is the unsure ground of a new experience. This may be a hard road for some to conquer, and some of you may be thinking, ``I'll never be able to conquer that road.'' If this is your thinking, let me remind you of something. A long, long time ago, this same Jesus had to conquer the road that led to Golgotha, ``that is to say, a place of a skull'' (Matt. 27:33). In conquering that road, He has afforded you and me the hope of conquering the road that leads to heaven. But in order to conquer that road we must leave our ``Comfort Zone.'' If this means ``out of our seats and into the streets,'' then let's go! Remember, HEAVEN WILL SURELY BE WORTH IT ALL! -- received from Jim Lee 1/10/96 ___________________________________________ DEATH -- WHAT IS IT? We think of death as ENDING. For the Christian it is a glorious BEGINNING. We think of it as GOING AWAY, but it is really a wonderous ARRIVING! -- Selected ___________________________________________ Pleasing God or Pleasing Man -- Which Will It Be? by Keith Greer ``For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? for if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ'' (Galatians 1:10). Paul distinguishes between serving God and serving man. Earlier in this chapter Paul warned about those who were trying to lead these brethren to ``another gospel.'' No matter how persuading their speech, the teaching was error! Where does man's highest allegiance belong? Can our loyalty be divided? Can we ever compromise truth for the sake of ``feelings''? Please read and consider the following passages: ``No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon'' (Matthew 6:24). ``And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him'' (Colossians 3:17). Man cannot be divided in his allegiance. God must be first. If man is trying to ride the ``proverbial fence,'' it is taking him away from God, not drawing him closer. Surely we want to be fair to our fellow men, but not at the expense of displeasing God! Can you think of some examples in the Bible, of those who tried to please man, at God's expense? Allow me to suggest a few: AARON. Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving the law. The people become restless. What do they want? Aaron to fashion them ``gods'' which can go before them. What did he choose to do, please God or please them? Read Exodus 32:1-4. SAUL. God gave him instructions to destroy the Amalekites and everything that drew the breath of life. The people wanted to bring back the best sheep and oxen to offer sacrifices unto God. What did he do? Read 1 Samuel 15:14-23. SAMSON. Samson was a mighty judge of Israel. He was given great strength by God, with the stipulation not to reveal the source of his power to anyone. Delilah enticed him to reveal the secret. What did Samson do? Read Judges 16:16-24. What do these three men have in common? All made a decision to please men instead of God. Each paid a high price for their decision. Now let us briefly look at four other examples: JOHN THE BAPTIST. He was before Herod and told him it was unlawful for him to have his brother's wife. John was a prisoner; the king could take his life. Why not just be silent and say nothing? Read Mark 6:17-28. STEPHEN. In Acts 7 he preaches to a rebellious crowd of Jews. Giving them a history lesson, he plainly shows them the stiffnecked hearts which they had. How did they react? Why not just let them continue in what they were doing? Read Acts 7:22-59. PAUL. Did the apostle Paul compromise truth to please those to whom he once belonged? Please read Philippians 3:7-13. Did he seek to please God or to please man? JESUS. What about our Lord? Did He try to please the Pharisees who opposed Him on every front? When men did not like His teaching, did He change it? After His teaching, when men became angry and wanted to kill Him, did He back down? Please read Matthew 23. Which will you seek to please? -- Via The Vegas Drive Messenger, May 21, 1995 ___________________________________________ NOBODY DID IT! George Somebody, Ted Everybody, Mike Anybody, and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but they were not like you and me. They were odd people and most difficult to understand. The way they lived was a shame. All four belonged to the same church, but you would not have enjoyed worshiping with them. EVERYBODY went fishing on Sunday or stayed home to visit with friends. ANYBODY wanted to worship but was afraid SOMEBODY wouldn't speak to him. So guess who went to church--NOBODY. Really, NOBODY was the only decent one of the four. NOBODY did the visitation. NOBODY worked on the church building. Once they needed a Bible class teacher. EVERYBODY thought ANYBODY would do it, and ANYBODY thought SOMEBODY would do it. And you know who did it? That's exactly right...NOBODY! It happened that a fifth neighbor (an unbeliever) moved into the area. EVERYBODY thought SOMEBODY should try to win him for Christ. ANYBODY could have made an effort. You probably know who finally won him: NOBODY! This little parable brings to focus again the fact that each of us is personally responsible for God's work. If we leave it for somebody or everybody or anybody, nobody will do it. Let's work till Jesus comes! -- selected and adapted ___________________________________________ "But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one..." (Luke 10:41,42). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________